Lucky Charm
by NighttimePhilosopher
Summary: Commissioned by MeltingCandle. Human AU(?). Amethyst finds a small green gem stuck in a drain. Pearl tells her it's lucky. Amethyst takes her word for it. Amazing cover by me.


A little something requested by my friend MeltingCandle. It's a birthday present! Happy birthday dude!

AU where the Crystal gems are human, and the Homeworld gems are gems, except they are miniature. Keep in mind they are not gemlings. That is their actual size. The fear-inspiring, planet-invading race of gemkind is made up of tiny creatures that you could fit in your hand.

If you've seen those human high school promos that the Crewniverse whips up every time a new episode comes out, then pretty much imagine the human characters in their school uniforms like that. Cool. Also, I am a gem nerd.

* * *

Some would swear that by finding lucky objects, then that meant that their life was looking up. Especially if that lucky object was a peridot gemstone. The light green olivine rock was considered lucky by people all over the world. It bought luck and good health to its carrier, and was used commonly in jewellery and charms. People born in the month of August had this fortunate stone assigned to them.

But was Amethyst born in August? No. (February - if you were wondering)

And, more importantly, was her life looking up now that she had found this peridot? She wasn't quite sure.

Two days ago, Amethyst had been walking home from school. It was a normal day for her, mostly. Her friends - Garnet and Pearl – were walking behind her, talking about the assignment given to them by their teacher, Mr. . It involved research to be done at home, and then a prac to be completed at school. Amethyst found it all pretty lame, so she tried to block their conversation out.

Looking around the streets of Beach City as she walked in the dying sun rays, she found many objects to be glinting back at her. So she was sort of unsure why a particular green object seemed to gain her attention.

Lodged in a drain on the side of the street, its appearance alone seemed to call out to her, a cry for help. The short, chubby girl bee-lined for it and bent down to pick it up. It was a delicate procedure, as below the drain bars the rock was wedged in, there was swirling, mucky stormwater. Putting her fingers around the sides of the unusually smooth gemstone, she didn't let it fall as she plucked it from danger. She held it up and inspected it, only one eye visible due to her scruffy mane of hair draping over the other.

"What's that you've got there, Amethyst?" came a smooth voice from directly behind her. She nearly jumped, but then realised it was Garnet. The tall girl was standing over her. If it was anyone else, they would probably be very intimidated by her air of authority. But Amethyst just shrugged, standing straight again.

"It's a shiny green rock. It was stuck in the drain." Amethyst responded, shoving the olivine mineral in the taller girl's face rudely so she could inspect it.

Garnet tilted her cool, reflective shades. "Nice" she complimented simply.

Pearl came up behind them. She looked curiously at the rock, holding onto Garnet's steady arm. Her mouth formed into an "O" and Amethyst knew a torrent of information was about to be unleashed upon her and Garnet.

"Amethyst! You found a peridot! The 'poor man's emerald', the August birthstone-" she didn't seem to know where to start, so she just spurted out inconsistent factoids about the green gemstone Amethyst had the privilege of finding.

The scruffy girl waved her hands in front of her lithe friend, trying to get her to slow down "Whoa whoa, calm down, P. A peri-what?"

Pearl straightened herself "A peridot" she answered. She explained, much clearer that before "It's a type of gemstone. First found on the Egyptian island of Zabargad, it's often combined with an amethyst gem-"

"Me?"

"ugh, no." Pearl scowled and rolled her eyes as she was interrupted. She continued after glaring at the shorter girl "It's often combined with an amethyst gemstone, and together they are seen as a symbol of purity and morality. But on its own, it is a stone for good luck, good health and wisdom."

Amethyst asked a follow up question by raising her hand.

"Yes, Amethyst?" said an irritated Pearl.

"Why do you know all this? It's pretty random knowledge to have, even for you" she was correct. Pearl loved to absorb information from anything she could, but usually she focused on things she would use in life, like phone numbers, CPR ("you never know when you might need to use it to save someone's life" - Pearl), and housework (she had a weird knack for it; like she was born to serve someone else, like she wasn't her own person. It made Amethyst sad). Knowledge of gemstones didn't seem to fit in at all.

The thin girl blushed faintly, fiddling with her hands and averting her eyes from the two other girls.

"Rose" Garnet prompted knowingly. It made sense to Amethyst straight away.

"Ooohh, I get it. Rose likes that sorta crystal healing stuff, doesn't she?" Amethyst grinned at Pearl.

"Y-Yes, she likes crystal meditation and healing" Pearl confirmed, nervously gripping her uniform.

"So, you thought you'd do your homework, eh? Have an idea of what she was interested in so you could impress her?" Amethyst smirked.

Pearl got defensive "Well, after she showed me, I became interested in gems myself. It's really amazing what some attributes-"

"Sure, sure, Pearl. Keep telling yourself that." The scruffy girl said, putting her hands behind her head as she began strutting away. The others started walking behind her again, equalling her by catching up, longer legs taking longer strides.

"Wh-What do you mean?! I'm not making up anything!" Pearl fretted, glaring at Amethyst, who was unravelling her.

"Heh heh, I didn't say you made anything up, Pearl. You've obviously been readin' up on gems. You know quite a lot about this-" Amethyst held the lime green peridot up "-peridok"

"It's peridot!" Pearl yelled, balling her fists and grinding her teeth.

"You're only proving my point. Why else would you wanna learn about rocks?"

"Why you!-"

Garnet stepped in between them "Pearl, calm down." She put her hands on the small-framed girls shoulders. Then she turned her head to Amethyst, her afro swishing from the motion. "Amethyst, stop teasing her."

"Aww, fine, G" Amethyst relented. Her impressive mane twirled with her as she spun around, stopping at the start of a new street. The other taller girls looked at the street sign, and then back at Amethyst.

"Welp, this is my spot"

A "Yeah" came from Garnet. They had stopped to see Amethyst off. Her house was only a few down the street.

"Pearl." Amethyst asked for the girl's attention politely, as if she was going to apologize. Pearl shook her head, confused at her sudden change in tone. She looked at Amethyst attentively.

She held up the peridot gemstone "You sure you don't need some luck? You can have it if you want. Your chances with Rose….ah, well…"

"Agh! You don't understand, Amethyst!" Pearl yelled angrily, Garnet now holding her back, her frail limbs swiping at the leaving girl. Amethyst just laughed loudly and walked away, clutching her sides. It was really funny to tease Pearl.

She was nearly at her house when she heard Pearl say "You don't know how love feels!"

It struck her like an electric shock. Amethyst's back was turned from Garnet and Pearl, who were still at the start of the street. She kept it that way, pretending she did not hear what Pearl had said. That was hurtful, and even if she had ticked off Pearl, it was uncalled for. She knew Amethyst was sensitive about that. About not pining after anyone (and she was pretty sure no one had romantic feelings for her, either). There was just no one who met her fancy.

She heard Garnet grumble lowly to Pearl, probably telling her off. She wanted to thank stoic woman, but then again, she didn't. Amethyst probably deserved it.

Fiddling with the lock on the door, she got it open and went inside the empty, cramped house. It was a thin, two story building, and she had the upstairs all to herself. Actually, she had the whole house to herself. After school, she was alone until her parents came home. She exhaustedly went upstairs to her room and flung her bag off dramatically.

"Oh well. Woe is me" she complained to herself. She placed her peridot down on her messy desk, and left it there, not terribly interested in it. Then she lay down on her bed, her lavender-tinted hair splaying out. Her varied thoughts proceeded to consume her for about half an hour. These thoughts ranged from simple things like, "What am I going to make for dinner?" "When are my parents coming home?" and "Will I go to bed early enough to get 8 hours sleep tonight to function tomorrow?" to slightly more intriguing thoughts, like "Why is the sky blue?" "Why is poop brown?" and "What's up with gravity?" Obviously, she wasn't thinking about homework like she could have been. Should have, would have, could have.

Amethyst rolled over to her side, staring at her hand that she lie out in front of herself, frowning. Pearl would know the answers to those fancy, science-y questions. She also, by now, would be at home, starting the assignment. Pearl…Why was she so….perfect? Good at everything? The female was a real know-it-all, but a truly sweet person also. She was tall, good at singing, excellent at dancing, and she was very regime. It irritated Amethyst how she could always be so prim and proper. And that how she considered herself to be the exact opposite. Amethyst was lazy, outspoken, a mess, gross, and was definitely NOT prim and proper.

"Ugh!" Amethyst sighed roughly, laying on her back again. The annoyed girl decided she would sleep off her anger, and reduce the waking time she had waiting for her parents to come home. She spread out like a little starfish and squeezed her eyes shut. After a few minutes, her body relaxed and she drifted off to sleep.

She was completely unaware of the eerie green glow shining out from the crystal, filling her room.

* * *

About two hours later, Amethyst woke herself up by snoring a little loudly. "Huh, uh, whoa, what?"

She surveyed her room, which was the same as it was when she fell asleep. There was though, a feeling she couldn't shake off. A weird feeling that she was unaware of something, anything. Maybe her parents had arrived and were downstairs? She sat up and then headed to her door, walking obliviously past her desk. Grabbing the handle and swinging it open, she peered down the staircase, feeling a little uneasy. After a small hesitance, she called out "Yo! Anyone home?"

Nobody answered, and she didn't hear any noises of subtle movement. Her ears were good at picking up that sort of stuff. And also sick drum beats. The lavender-haired girl turned around and headed back into her room, leaving the door slightly ajar. She headed back to her desk and peered under it. She scanned the leg space until she noticed a bundle rolled up. Smiling, she grabbed it quickly, not judging her speed and cracking her head on the underside of the desk.

"Ouch, jeez…"she growled, rubbing at where a lump may form later on her head. She ignored the majority of the pain and instead focused on unrolling her bundle of joy. Feeling the familiar firm rubber in her hands, she quickly caught the accompanying drumsticks that slipped out now that they weren't secured. It was her silicon roll-up drum kit; her best friend apart from Garnet and Pearl.

Retrieving headphones from her pocket, she plugged the audio jack into the headphones port and popped the earpieces into her ears, hair obscuring them after she focused her hands on her sticks. Pressing the play button on her already attached MP3, a vibrant, percussion filled track filled her ears and she began to smack the pads that responded to pressure. She started with a build up from her toms, then broke into the main song using the hi-hat, snare and base drum. Despite it looking rather easy, she had to cross her arms over at one point, which was difficult to return from. Cymbal washes flowed through her and she was inspired to keep in time with the backing guitar, yet be creative, so she threw in a flurry of tom hits and used an alternate base. There was a part where the base drum was absent, and only the snare drum was used to keep the song and herself in line. She threw her head back and let the sharp sound continuously crack in her ears.

1-2-3-4. She raised a foot on the base peddle in anticipation. 1-2-3-4, Now!

The song required a quick, tight cluster of snares before evening out once again. Pulling off the move was a rush in itself and she felt so alive as the song kept going. Base, snare, base, snare, kept in rhythm by ever constant taps on the hi-hat. The song soon came to an end, the drums finishing earlier than the other instruments, so she sat and listened until they finished their piece.

"Ah, good warm-up" Amethyst sighed, rolling her shoulders. Her wild hair ruffled with the movement, and she felt pumped up for the next song. As she reached over to the MP3 for the next song however, a sound unfamiliar to her came from somewhere in her room. She quickly pulled her earphones out and placed them on the desk, standing up sharply. The bulky girl eyed the room suspiciously. That uneasy feeling was still there. It kept her antsy. Cautiously, she spoke out.

"Hey, anyone there?" she rasped. No response. Except something shuffled under the desk. Amethyst gasped and looked under it. Nothing was there, except a t-shirt of hers that was shivering. The girl hummed in confusion, as t-shirts did not usually do that. She hovered a curious hand over it, and it stopped moving. She inched closer until she put her hand over the silent lump under the clothing. There was a still moment before whatever was under her hand shrieked. Amethyst jumped, startled, and the creature tried to get out of the shirt. She quickly held it down, and it struggled under the weight of her hand.

 _This is a weird mouse._

Amethyst grabbed the shirt with two hands, then held it like a bundle, dangling the supposedly small organism inside. There were no body details that could be seen poking out, but little bumps and movements told her it was trying to escape.

Amethyst decided in this moment that she wanted to actually see the little creature for herself. She lowered the bundle into her hands and clutched the bottom so the little thing wouldn't fall out of her grip. Then she used one hand and unfolded the top, but not exactly all the way. Peering over, she saw the strangest thing. A tiny, cute, weird person. With a green gem in the centre of its forehead. It looked incredibly threatened, and looked up at her with a tiny glare. However, Amethyst could feel it shaking in her palm.

She tried to be friendly to the little person "Whoa, what're you, little guy?"

She didn't expect a response, but got one anyway "None of your business, you clod!" it yelled in a nasally voice.

Amethyst nearly dropped the small life in her hands, amazed. "Wow, you can talk?!"

"Yes, I can use my vocal pad to articulate words that you can comprehend" It looked a little unimpressed.

Amethyst blinked back. "Wha…?"

"Or, maybe you can't." it said condescendingly, before biting the tanned girl's thumb with its tiny, sharp teeth. You wouldn't expect it to hurt much, but it did. Or maybe it was just shock factor; Amethyst was surprised that this cute thing was _not_ friendly.

"Ouch!" she cried before dropping the gem-embellished gremlin. It skittered away quickly, running and tripping to the door that Amethyst had left slightly open. "No, wait! Little person!" she stumbled clumsily after it. Her footsteps rumbled the ground behind it, and she saw it switch to all fours before speeding out the gap in the door.

"I'm a peridot, you infantile human clod!" she heard it say as it raced down the stairs. Amethyst opened her door wide enough for herself just in time to see it fall down the steps. It had to be considered that these steps were made for much larger humans, and that traversing them was quite a difficult challenge for smaller creatures, like dogs, cats, and peridots.

"Oof, ow, gah, ugh, ow!" It clonked down each massive step. It sprawled out on the first floor below, like an injured green star, face down.

"Oh no, peridot!" Amethyst clambered easily down the stairs. She stopped before she reached it, however, suddenly lost in thought, brought up by her usage of "peridot". Wasn't that a stone? "Wait, peridot?" she questioned aloud.

The green creature growled as it got up "Yes, 'peridot'". It angrily but wonkily skittered into the living room, trying to find another shirt to hide under. The next best thing was under the coffee table, so it ran there. Amethyst walked up to the table, knowing she wouldn't be able to see the miniature being.

"Peridot. Lemme see your face for a sec"

The green creature was astounded. "What? Why?"

Amethyst grabbed the sides of the coffee table and heaved. Her strength allowed her to easily pick up the bulky table, sending everything that was resting on it racing down and off the lower edge. Peridot was revealed, curled into a small ball of fear. The thing looked up at Amethyst, who looked down at it. The girl squinted to try and see the gem on Peridot's forehead. The green gremlin quickly covered up the source of its holographic being and cursed at Amethyst. "No! You aren't allowed to see it!" Just because the girl took interest in it, the gem was hidden.

Amethyst needed a third hand to reach Peridot, which she did not possess; her two hands already lifting the table. Peridot would have known this, and decided that fleeing now would be a good option because Amethyst would have to reset the table back on its four legs before attempting to pursue. That required time, and the gem could use that window of time to find another hiding place, and then maybe a way out of the human household.

Amethyst saw the tiny green run out from under the tilted table and scowled. "Come back here!"

The little thing ran onto the tiled surface that was the kitchen floor. Looking around itself, it saw no objects to hide under. And no furniture to hide in. Turning around, it saw the being it was fleeing from. "Eep!"

Amethyst approached Peridot carefully. She didn't want to scare the mysterious gem-being (more than it already was). She watched its movements like a hawk, seeing its triangle-like head darting around like crazy, looking for a hiding spot. The girl put her hands out wide, ready to catch.

"G-Get away from me!" It squeaked, backing away and bumping into closed draws. End of the line.

"I'm not gonna hurt you" Amethyst cooed gently. She bent down and gathered Peridot in her strong hands. The green gem easily fit in one hand, but she cupped it loosely with two. She didn't want the creature to be uncomfortable, but she didn't want it to escape either. She wasn't going to let it, this time, even if it bit her again - which is what it was currently doing.

Tiny teeth scrapped and dug into calloused fingers, years of playing drums keeping them rough and uncaring of minor inconveniences. Little claws scratched at her fingers, but it didn't faze her. Wiggly feet kicked the inside of her hand, and she couldn't care less. All the while, Amethyst observed the green gem on the preoccupied creature's forehead. Brown eyes looked at the glimmer and smoothness, closing as she came to a conclusion.

"You're that gem I found, aren't you? Pearl didn't say peridots could come alive"

The green person looked up, still half-way through trying to injure Amethyst. It let go, but a scowl never left its face.

"You retrieved my gem from that drain, right?" it had that unimpressed look again, the one where its eyes said everything it wanted to say in words.

"Yeah." Amethyst said, her question now answered. Now she had another one. "Why's it on your head now?" Amethyst leaned in and reached to poke it.

"Ah, no! Stop!" the gem suddenly yelped, putting its hands in front of its source. "Don't touch it!"

Amethyst flinched back. "Oh, um, why not?" she asked.

"I am a **gem**! That is the centre of my very being! My form is projected _out_ of my gem. You'll break it if I let your pudgy, gross fingers near it! And I'm not letting myself be shattered by a clod like you!" It spat, swatting and swiping her hovering fingers away.

"Whoa, sounds pretty serious. I won't touch it then." Amethyst calmly submitted, not really knowing what anything of that meant, but respecting Peridot's wishes. It looked like her words took the creature off guard, making it pause in its assault.

"O-Oh. Good." It huffed. Pointy fingers resumed stabbing into her hand. Peridot lost its concentration to attacking the hand that held it, and Amethyst looked over the small gem in her hands. If she couldn't touch that shiny alluring gem, then she would touch the weird hair.

Amethyst subtly (when the gem was distracted with attacking her) moved two fingers into it's strange head of blond hair. It was short and very soft, and she began stroking the top, flattening it and scruffing it up. The actions did not go unnoticed (unsurprisingly) and she provoked a hiss and threatening display of fangs. The blond hair frizzed up, similar to a cat in the same situation. "Don't pet me." It said sternly, glaring at her.

Amethyst decided not to pet it anymore. She thought to try and make conversation to show that she didn't want to damage any forehead-gems or play with triangle-hair anymore.

"Sooo, you're a gem." She started, before it went back to gnawing her. "Are you a girl-gem or a boy-gem? I can't tell" Amethyst asked, cocking her head to the side and looking the green gem over. No features were particularly male or female, and the blond hairstyle was something else. She watched Peridot watching her hair sway with the movement. Then it focused on her question.

"N-Neither! Gender doesn't apply to me!" it barked. "…but I do use 'female' pronouns…" 'she' muttered.

"Ah, cool. So do I. I'm a gal, if you wanted to know. " Amethyst said back.

Again, Peridot was taken off guard. She looked confused as to why Amethyst was being so nice to her and attempting to relate to her, especially when she was so rude back. Perhaps – Amethyst thought - she didn't understand human culture that well. She might have been used to harshness and opposition.

Silence followed comfortably for Amethyst, who was still in awe at the tiny living rock in her hands. She could walk and talk, not to mention bite and scratch. She was also quite rude, and seemed very intelligent by the way she spoke. Amethyst thought she was amazing, and terribly cute. It was strange, because if anyone else talked to her the way Peridot did, she would smash them, without a doubt. But she couldn't even think of doing that to the tiny being.

"Ahem." Peridot cleared her throat, blushing under Amethyst's admiring gaze. It seemed now she wanted to talk. "So, human. I've divulged information to you about myself. I think it's fair that you do the same." She looked up at the tan girl sternly and professionally, but it looked too adorable from Amethyst's angle. She bit back a laugh.

"uhm, yeah. The name's Amethyst, heh." She got out, snickering a bit at the end. Peridot only looked at her strangely.

"But-you're not a gem. Why do you possess a warrior quartz's name?" she was confused. "Is it that humans know of our kind, and name their offspring after important gems?" She looked concerned and crossed her thin arms. Then she suddenly sprang to life. "Wait! Are there any humans named Peridot?" she looked quite excited and hopeful at the prospect of a human being named after her gem type. The gem didn't seem intent on escaping as she waited for an answer to her multitude of questions.

Amethyst chuckled, and seeing the gem so excited about a little thing made her feel warm and happy on the inside. "People name their kids after gemstones because they think they are pretty? I dunno. Alotta my friends got gem names, but they're all tough and scary. 'cept Pearl. Pearl's smooth and soft. But she could still beat you up, y'know? Um, to answer your other question….no, I've never heard of a human called Peridot."

She snorted. "Well, that's a wasted opportunity missed by the human race. Peridots are very admirable for their intelligence and handiwork. They are great gems to be named after. Also, you mentioned a pearl. I want to make sure you know that pearls aren't gems. They are servants. Don't name humans after pearls." Peridot in her hands replied. Amethyst looked down sharply.

"Whaddya mean, pearls are servants?" She hadn't been talking about gems. She'd been talking about her friend. But this piqued her interest.

There was a sudden divulge of information on the confusing topic. "On my home planet, pearls are manufactured to be servants to actual gems. The higher ups have access to their own pearl servants, who hold important objects for them. They are also consistently tidy, prim and proper, and do not disobey their masters. They aren't gems on their own and can't do anything without a master."

Amethyst didn't respond. She could only think. According to this talking green rock, faraway, pearls – actual pearls - were made to be servants for others; and her best friend Pearl here on Earth acted in the service of others like she was _made_ to. The maned girl shuddered at the strange coincidences and shared names, storing those thoughts for later.

"Interesting" she said instead, semi-politely to get off the topic. Amethyst then had another thought as she went over the conversation again. "Hey, you said something about a home planet. Are you an alien?"

"Well, technically to you, _Amethyst_ , I am an alien. I'm not originally from this planet. But it looks like I'm stuck here indefinitely" surprisingly, she folded her arms and looked away.

"That's super cool. A tiny gem alien that can fit in my hand. Cool." Peridot only huffed. "Uh, anyway. You're stuck here? On Earth, I mean."

"Yes." Amethyst swore she heard her voice catch. The mood of the banter suddenly changed to a sadder tone.

"Oh. What happened?" She asked carefully.

"I….I'm not telling you anything" she bit back. Amethyst considered it over-defensive, because she wasn't going to pry. She really just wanted to make sure the little gem was okay. Amethyst decided that she might need some space, so Peridot was gently released from her hands and set on the kitchen bench. The lean creature held her body in a confused manner upon standing on her own, as if surprised she was let go. What was surprising to Amethyst was that she didn't run away.

"Are you okay?" Amethyst asked instead.

"I-I'm fine." She stuttered back, faltering. "I'm just…..lost…" Eye contact could not be made with her stubborn green eyes. She seemed to be very troubled.

"Any way I can help you out?" She said, moving over to the kitchen bench and leaning on it.

"Help? I doubt you can. This situation requires the aid of my gem colleagues." the green gem scoffed, looking Amethyst up and down before looking away. It must have been quite a gargantuan problem if she thought Amethyst couldn't help. But then again, it was alien stuff; the unknown. "But I appreciate the offer" she added, sounding stiff. Somewhere in that tone there was a tiny glimmer of gratitude.

Clearly she was upset, and trying desperately to hide a side of her that was frightened with passive-aggressiveness. Amethyst wanted to cheer the alien up. The bulky girl turned around and opened the fridge, rummaging for sandwich components. She got a mix-matched variety of toppings, with many different smells assaulting her nostrils. She began unloading them onto the kitchen bench next to Peridot.

"Hey, um, Peridot?" Amethyst began, eyes on the food. Maybe there was a way she could help her - by alleviating the gem's current major problem. It could possibly be a burden for herself, and who knows what she was getting into, but it was worth a shot.

"You could…. stay here. In this house, I mean." She spread the toppings on the sandwich, and put a sliced tomato in between the two slices of bread. "You seem like you have nowhere to go, y'know? Bein' stuck on this planet and all for some reason."

Peridot looked away.

"Er, anyway. It's your choice. But the offers there. I wanna help you out."

The green gem took a while, but looked back to her, expression neutral, if a little negative. Her visor-covered eyes attempted to pierce Amethyst's own. Little green arms propped each other up, one hand balling into a fist under her chin thoughtfully. There was a silence. Amethyst finished off the creation of the snack and packed away the left over ingredients.

"I'll…consider." She said finally. Amethyst couldn't tell if that was the nicest way of saying no that she could come up with on the spot, or that she was actually thinking about it. Amethyst had been a bit sudden and forward with the offer, but it was all she could think of. She didn't really think the green being would say yes, but again, it was worth a shot.

"Yeah, sure." Amethyst responded. No need to pressure her to stay. But, it would make life that much more interesting - to have a tiny alien roommate and all. "Here, I'll give you some time to think" Amethyst headed for the stairs, back up to her room. "I'll be ihn mah rhoom" she said with a mouthful of sandwich.

She got no response. Nor did she when she finally decided to work on her science assignment. It wasn't until later, when her parents were home, that her visitor approached her. She looked a little tired and she was slumping.

"Oh, hey. Did mum and dad scare you up here?" Amethyst said, lazily peeking down from her bed at Peridot on the floor.

"You didn't mention that more humans resided here." Peridot grumbled, shoulders loose. Amethyst hoped this wouldn't affect the gem's chances of staying.

"I don't own this place. I'm still a baby, really. I just live here too."

Peridot looked shocked. "You aren't fully grown?!"

"Nope" The "p" was popped. The chubby girl rolled over on her back and grabbed a science book, trying to read it in the low lighting. Really, she just felt sleepy and wasn't concentrated on it. At least she felt accomplished for doing a third of the work. That's more than none.

Peridot soon found a way to clamber up onto the bedside table. "What are you doing?" she asked stiffly.

Amethyst's eyes rolled to Peridot and her head turned subtly "Hmm, this?" she lazily tilted the book in the green gem's direction. "Science stuff."

"Science? What have primitive humans been able to achieve on this mudball?" The alien moved over and Amethyst just flat out gave her the book, laying it open on the table.

"Here. You can read. I'm done, I don't care." Amethyst grunted, closing her eyes. The book was bigger than Peridot, so she climbed upon the book and began to gaze at it, nearly longingly. But quickly her face scrunched up.

"What's up, 'dot?" Amethyst peeked open an eye to watch the mysterious intellectual creature.

"I cannot read in your "English" script" she growled.

Maybe she wasn't as smart as she looked. Amethyst couldn't help but snort, and she covered her mouth quickly (but kept laughing anyway). "You can't read?"

"I can read gem script! Not _this_ pathetic drabble!" She stomped down on the printed words of the science textbook.

Amethyst thought the actions were hilarious. "Bwahaha! Little Peri can't read English!" It was rude but she was too caught up in laughing. She continued cackling while Peridot slowed and then stopped her assault on the book. She stood solemnly for a while as Amethyst calmed herself. The girl felt bad immediately as she looked over to see the tiny thing standing with her head down and eyes closed tight.

"I just want to return home" she whispered, sounding in pain and maybe on the verge of tears.

Amethyst heard that and her heart broke. Not reading in her own language must have made her homesick. She had to help. She leaned over the hurt Peridot and the textbook. "Maybe look at the pictures instead?"

Peridot snorted and looked up at Amethyst like she was an idiot, then looked down at the book. There was a picture of a frog to the right of her foot.

"No, I'm serious. It's what I do. Alotta the words are in Latin or something, and I don't understand what they're supposed to mean. So I look at the pictures. There _is_ a section that like, defines 'em, but I'm too lazy to go through that."

Peridot looked up at her, still upset but slightly surprised. The green gem hopped off the book and grabbed a massive thin page. She lifted and flipped it over to the next page, avoiding her hand getting stuck under it as it fluttered and joined the rest of the unturned pages. In the dim lighting, on this page Peridot could see marine life in action: Sharks, reef fish, coral. She asked about them.

"Oh, those fishies live in the sea. You would've seen it, the big blue ocean, yeah? When you were coming from space?"

"The massive area of water? Yes, I saw that. These creatures live in it?"

"Yep." Amethyst read an explaining paragraph to Peridot, who let herself listen to her raspy, comforting voice. Amethyst's eyes darted to Peridot every now and again, checking on her. The gem had huddled into a little ball, arms circling knees protectively. After a while, Amethyst had found the topic was no longer was referring to aquatic life, but water cycles and deposits. Peridot had not told her to stop, and was still seemingly continuing to listen. Amethyst's rested her chin in her palm and flipped the page, both of them seeing the frog again. She started reading about the amphibian and it's capability to live on land and in water when Peridot spoke.

"I'm going to take you up on your offer."

Amethyst sat up, surprised. She didn't expect Peridot to say anything, let alone her confirmation of wanting to stay. The green gem caught her off-guard again when she looked up, appearing insecure. Her eyes looked tired and her lips were wobbly. She tightened her arms around herself subconsciously.

Amethyst was very excited. Peridot had decided to stay! But being excited and happy when Peridot was feeling down and anxious would make the gem feel worse. Despite not acting like it most of the time, Amethyst was mature. The girl knew that the words she chose could very well break what they had going. She wasn't sure how the gem was going to react to anything she said, so maybe she could try something else.

A large, tanned hand carefully made its way towards Peridot. It went to wrap its fingers around the small gem, but then decided against it. The action was too forward and intimidating for someone who already was not coping. Carefully, the index finger took the lead and hovered above the sad mini being, who was either oblivious or just too worn out to care. Gently, the hand lowered and only just touched the top of the triangle hair, no pressure applied and ready to back off if the creature didn't like it.

Peridot tilted her head up slightly, causing the tip of her hair to run across the finger's pad. She didn't complain, she didn't even scowl. She let Amethyst continue and she softly pat her head in a comforting manner. If this had happened before, then Amethyst expected claws and fangs embedded in her finger. But now, the gem was leaning into the touch. She decided now was a good time to apologize for laughing at her before.

"Apology accepted. I realise I need to be on good terms with you if I am to stay here for an indeterminate amount of time." Peridot said formally, as if they were business partners.

Amethyst felt herself smile. Peridot didn't look as fragile when she took her hand away from the weird blond scruff. She started up conversation simply and lazily, something she was good at.

"So, what do you eat? I'll buy some food for you tomorrow"

"Nothing. My construct is not designed for consuming objects, nor do I want to partake in that human ritual."

"Aww, what?! You can't be serious!"

"I'm completely serious, Amethyst."

"I've never seen or heard of a living thing that doesn't eat, _Peridot_. You gotta try some!"

"Well, now you have. I'm not trying anything."

"Pleeeeeaase?"

"No."

Their banter went long into the night.

* * *

Amethyst wasn't sure what she had gotten herself into, but she knew she was lucky to meet and make friends with a being that was unmistakeably out of this world. What lies in store for a lost gem and a confused human?

* * *

So so sorry for taking forever on this. MeltingCandle commissioned me a bit over two months ago at a bit of an inopportune time (I had exams) and then writer's block had its way with me. Well, now that this is done, I can move onto my other commission. There will be more apologizing in the author's notes there, too. XD

I also indulged a bit because Amethyst and I share a favourite instrument: drums. I'm a goddamn percussion nut, I love everything about beat. I'm going to be getting the drum pad that Amethyst uses for my upcoming birthday. She got to test it out for me. Thanks, rhythm mama! If you were wondering what she was playing, it was "Noratan" from Noragami for some reason. Percussion, yeah. I took some liberties when writing about it, though. Here's a link if you want to listen to this crazy song. watch?v=Z2UKQ85d328 This can be considered the theme for the fic I suppose too. It suits the chase scene.

If you noticed, I subtly wrote Amethyst as aromantic. It's not really my headcanon, but I thought "Why not?" By a weird connection, I thought Amethyst's behaviour sounded similar to my own, so I searched up "How to know if you are aromantic". I actually fit the bill.

I don't feel romantic feelings, I misinterpret a lot of feelings for emotional closeness as crushes, and I do not seek out a partner; I have no desire to. I can give off an air of flirty-ness without realising it, and am afraid of people flirting with me. I find relationships daunting and see it more as a commitment than anything else. It makes sense, because when I confessed to a crush one time and we started going out, I did not feel relief and happiness; I was cold with dread. And to be honest, a sexual relationship sounds way easier to have. Still deciding if I am actually aro, and I'm having a slight identity crisis at the moment, but meh.

There will be more chapters. There will be. Don't expect an update for a while though. Okay bye.


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